Were Danica Hunter to shuffle up onto your ipod you probably wouldn't guess she was A. Seventeen and B. Not Adele.

Danica's a little different from the other artists covered in this feature; just one voice and a guitarist (Angus Chandler), with which she made it to the finals of UK Open Mic 2010 at the 02 arena. A fact that is bound to be in every other review of hers for the time being but it's hard to ignore.

I think I first heard of her as often is the case these days, through twitter. You can follow her here, she's a really good follow. Her voice is distinct and has a soulfulness impossible for her age. Some songs remind me of moments on Amy Winehouse's Frank, other times I don't see too much difference between her tones and Adele's.

Danica is still at College where she studies Performing Arts and thankfully the musical theatre habits that so many artists pick up are absent from her captivating performances. She's playing the Henley Festival on 8th July, tickets here, alongside some ridiculously huge names and if you live around the Oxford area keep an eye out for her at local venues.

They were promised rain and by the end of the weekend they got a lot of it.

They were promised rock and that, was torrential and relentless.

I'm pretty sure thisfestival will only be remembered for one thing- the music.

Obviously those who were expected to shine, did. Alice Cooper put on his usual out of this world spectacle but he's been bringing it for decades, this is about the guys who showed up this year and- BROUGHT. IT.

VersaEmerge

Although Sierra Kusterbeck's vocals can be compared to Hey Monday and perhaps even lights, the heavier elements of this rock duo were hefty enough for them to more than hold their own.

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Clutch

The more typical "download" artist if you will. Heavy and long riffs, hardcore drumming but with a similar energy and intelligence that saw System of a Down once again become one of the highlights of the big game players. Clutch don't rely on that a-typical sound however, bringing in elements of blues, straight rock and even country most prominent on "Cyprus Grove" and "Power Player" it's moments like this track where you can imagine why they went down a storm.

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Down

Down and Clutch are in a similar vein to be honest but that's why they're both a great time. Down are more progressive and more faithful to the hardcore elements that the sound in indebted to. This is most apparent on "March" but "The Path" is the best showcase of their musicianship, both of which are off their 2007 release III: Over and Under.

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Japanese Voyeurs

These guys are actually English. Romany Alice leads their charge with the charisma almost expected from the sublimely well populated genre of goth rock. That's the usual way of labelling female fronted metal bands anyway. I wouldn't say the music is quite as dark as that but just as atmospheric.

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Quote of the weekend-

As the rain finally stopped, Bowling for Soup took the stage-

"Do you know why it stopped raining when we started playing? God's favourite band"

Band least suited to download-Plain White T's

I feel this picture encapsulates the spirit of the festival-

Now that's just plain fucked up-

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AudiaFauna of Santa Cruz California, have so many elements akin to the similarly sublime Fanfarlo that they deserve at least a percentage of their recognition. Though a stark difference here is that their lead singer is female, making the DreamPop elements all the more silken.

The lyrical intelligence and unique delivery brings to mind Alessi's Ark. Despite having the option of going down the wall of noise route the band use their talents to soundtrack the passion rather than to enforce it, this is decision is what sets them apart from say Emanuel and the Fear making for a more accessible and pleasant listen.

They've got a lot of material but not too much in ways of recordings but stick around there's definitely way more on it's way. Four tracks are below.

Roots was featured on the indie rock playlist this month and once again, we are indebted to him for this find.

Representing the darker sides of Polish rock come L.Stadt. Musically, you can tell it's European but these elements (synth, elocution, pop) are thankfully understated. The vocalisation reminds me of Damon Albarn on '13' and instrumentally the guitars could straight from any of the Libertines' 2005-2009 protegees. Lyrically it's very deliberate which I think is perfect for the style they represent, it's clearly very well thought out and creates a great atmosphere on the recordings that ever so many bands fail to.

L.Stadt's influences are undeniably old school so those comparisons could probably be made without paying too much attention, however on closer listening to the A-list of their sets from their previous album you notice that apart from 'ciggies' the album is quite a progression to what they're perhaps noted for particularly on those who only know them from 'Londyn'. This is most notable on the ambling 'charmin/lola' and album opener 'death of a surfer girl'. Tracks like those really show why they've been able to bridge the inter-europa abyss that many would be easily dissuaded from attempting but with 200+ shows under their belt they're sounding like they mean serious business.

Bottom line is this melodic, dark intelligent rock from some killer guys. Check them out.

This, the general sentiment that lead to Bright Eyes trending on twitter. The feeling of the gig was monumental. A beautiful setting full of either fans of Conor Oberst's work or the very soon to be. The moment was lost on no one and the band responded by putting on an irresistable show awash with intricacies and intelligent nuances that made this one of the nights of the Nebraskan prodigy's remarkable journey.

Denny Brewer's familiar speech played out over the speakers with the anticipation unbearable. The transition from the recording to the live performance of Firewall was immaculate but rather than being the prelude to a People's Key showcase, as brilliant as it would be, it was only followed by Hailie Selassie before launching into a relentless march through his better known back catalogue Lifted..., Digital Ash, Wide Awake... and Cassadega as well as the unique Cartoon Blues from the Four Winds EP and an intense rendition of "The Calender Hung Itself" from Fevers and Mirrors.

While in recent shows there had been appearences from "Falling out of love at this altitude" and "Something Vague" the lo-fi form of the former may not have been entirely in keeping with the surroundings and as for something vague the slow emotion was reserved for initial set closer, Ladder song. But we're getting ahead of ourselves...

The energy and tempo that was commanded throughout the set was incredible. Following up those two PK tracks with Digital Ash's Take it easy (Love Nothing) and Cassedega's flagship single Four Winds...

It was pretty clear Conor was up for tonight, all the posturing of any of the mainstream artists that have graced this venue, improvisation and showmanship bordering on iconic. Everyone comes to see his projects to hear his words and it seems like he's come to terms with this, even comfortable with it.

The range that he has shown over his career with Bright Eyes is astounding and is displayed to stunning effect. Perfect examples of this being; playing New York protest folk gem Old Soul Song before the 80's synth inspired Shell Games and recent single Jejune Stars before going into stripped bare acoustic no one would riot for less.

watch?v=ZT1zGgq_uMY&w=440&h=390Live, The Calendar hung Itself is furious and tempestuous, the audience only divided by those screaming every word back at the band and those who feel every word coursing through their newly opened wounds. Following this was letter to a friend recently lost to suicide- Ladder Song. Just Conor and a piano, it was raw and emotional. He pointed to the audience on resonant line "you're not alone in anything // you're not alone in trying to be". I think if he'd stood up and declared himself our God at this point, no one would have argued...

Land Locked Blues is a fascinating example of Conor's prescient songwriting. Written a long time before its release on I'm Wide Awake It's Morning but not changing a bit. Tonight he changes "you'd think that after 22 years i'd be used to the spin" to "after getting so old...", he gets more and more relateable the longer we with live with his music. Many have said this was the highlight of the night. I couldn't say as it's impossible to pick one moment out from all of this but it's always going to be a special one.

It was at this point Conor took it upon himself to introduce the band. It's hard to comprehend just what went down for that period of five minutes, I wouldn't say it was uncharacteristic but certainly unexpected. It was poignant in a way, like he didn't know how to express quite what being able to be on stage with his friends in such an environment so he went about it uh- this way...

The crescendoing Road to Joy followed before closing with One for you, one for me. He went and touched hands with everyone in the front row and stood with the seats on either side of the stage. It's usually kinda lame when people try to touch

As it wound down with Brewer's closing speech, the word 'Mercy' looped as people drifted out.

For a festival that has always been a familiar and comforting occasion with the only surprises being on the always mind blowing line up, there has been an air of mystery over proceedings this year. New stages, more fields, a cinema, fine dining, the main stage moving to Steventon's 'Natural Ampitheatre'; all this sounds amazing but oh so tantalisingly ambiguous!

So rather than turning up and being able find everything in your sleep/stupour, there's a whole portal of dimensions to attract and intrigue.

While the most important thing is undoubtedly the music, it's more important that you're there, otherwise it won't seem quite as immediate or important to you and it might seem a little rude that I'm going on about how great a festival it is when you might not be there- so get your ticketshere. Usually the rule for festivals is, the more you pay the worse the facilities are (toilets, walkways, prices etc) and even while Truck is still under £100 you can bet that even with the expansions and bigger names that you can be assured nothing will be compromised, only improved.

The line up of course is unbeatable, I mean look at some of those names- Gruff Rhys, Bellowhead, Graham Coxon, John Grant, Young Knives, Philip Selway, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, The Go! Team, Johnny Flynn, Roddy Woomble, Pete & The Pirates... And an absolute feast of Oxford bands! All of these shall be on the Truck Preview Mp3 Collection which I shall get together for you over the next week.

Speaking of the line up- one other thing I love is nerding it up for hours with the clashfinder working out my exact movements in preperation and thankfully some genius makes up once a year, I do think this is earlier than ever though! A matter of a day since the stage times were announced you can now get it here. Whether you follow your carefully orchestrated path after finding the bar is another matter...